Hey Everyone! I have made a successful career out of studio singing and live performance. I know how to get paid to sing and I want to share some my insight for those who are curious about how to get started with a professional singing career. I will give you detailed information throughout a series of blogs. This blog entry marks the introduction of a series on how to make money as a singer. Make sure to check in regularly for updates as the topics become available.
You Wanna Get Paid To Sing – Series Topics:
- Develop Your Craft – Many have been told “you sing amazing, you should get a record deal” “you should go on American Idol“, etc.. If this is you, and you think you have what it takes to break into the music industry, your first step should be spending some serious & dedicated time to developing your craft as a singer. There are multiple ways of doing this… Check back for Part One: You Wanna Get Paid To Sing!
- Meet Other Singers & Musicians – Networking is the key to anything worth pursuing. These days, there are many ways to meet people through social media as well as the old fashioned way… face to face. As a singer looking to get paid to sing, it’s important that… Check back for Part Two: You Wanna Get Paid To Sing!
- Research Artists You Love Listening To – If you wanna get paid to sing, study someone who IS getting paid to sing. Start studying what it is about the artist that gives them such a great fan base. There are many factors to be aware of… Check back for Part Three: You Wanna Get Paid To Sing!
- Sight Reading vs Relying On Your Ear – Many people ask me if you need to be able to sight read (notated music) to get hired to sing on sessions. There are basically two camps in the session world and depending on which one you are apart of will determine whether it’s necessary for your career or not….. Check back for Part Four: You Wanna Get Paid To Sing!
- Promotion Must-Haves – The people who hire you are going to base your talent off of hearing what you can do. You really need your own website to feature your songs, show pictures of yourself, list your credits and give your contact information, all in one easy place. You wanna appear to be professional and because of this, I recommend not using a Facebook or myspace page. You should really be… Check back for Part Five: You Wanna Get Paid To Sing!
- Figure Out What You Want To Target For Your Singing Career – Commercials, Records/Albums, Movies/ TV, Radio. Believe it or not, each one of these is its own category. For each category, there is a specific job title you need to look for to find the person who can potentially hire you to sing on their next project… Check back for Part Six: You Wanna Get Paid To Sing!
- More Tools In The Toolbox – To have a successful career as a studio singer, it is very beneficial to know how to manipulate your voice so that when asked if you can sound like an 8 year old girl, your answer is YES… Check back for Part Seven: You Wanna Get Paid To Sing!
- Harmony – Having a really great ear for harmony is such a fantastic way to accentuate your beautiful singing voice. People who hire singers for major projects often times rely on the singer having a great ear. The sharper you are in this area, the more impressive you become… Check back for Part Eight: You Wanna Get Paid To Sing!
- I’m Ready, Where’s The Person To Hire Me – As I mentioned earlier, there is a specific job title you need to look for to find the person who can potentially hire you to sing on their next project. Early in my career, this was a very difficult task because I didn’t have the advantage of internet searches like we have now. I was still mailing CDs and Demos, now we have the capability of having our own websites. You must be willing to… Check back for Part Nine: You Wanna Get Paid To Sing!
- Your Best or Improve To Be The Best – Be reliable, on time, professional, be the best, always have a positive attitude and don’t spend your working hours at a session focusing on if the cute guy over there is single or not. You have no idea how important these key ingredients are if you truly want to have a successful singing career as a studio singer and possibly more… Check back for Part Ten: You Wanna Get Paid To Sing!
If you are interested in taking your career further, I’m available for voice lessons, voice manipulation and consulting at my studio in West Los Angeles and also through Skype lessons for those of you that are in different areas. Contact: angelamichael.com